Voting-booth



(No ModlQ P. ZUGKRII-IGrEL.

VOTING BOOTH.

Patnted Aug. 29, 1893.-

UNITED STATES T PATENT OFFICE.

PETER ZUOKRIEGEL, OF TELL CITY, INDIANA.

VOTING- BOOTH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 4,016, dated August 29,1893.

Application filed October 31,1892.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, PETER ZUOKRIEGEL, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Tell City, in the county of Perry and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inVoting-Booths, of which the following is a specification.

Theobject of my invention is a voting booth capable of being foldedcompactly, and inclosing within it when folded the folded ballot boxes,and serving as ablack board. It is especially intended for use in ruralprecincts in which the election is usually held in the townshipschool-houses. It is an improvement upon the invention for which LettersPatent 7 were granted to me June 2, 1891, No. 453,528.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention relates mayfully understand its construction and operation, I will first describeit in detail, referring by reference letters to the drawings formingpart ofthis specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe partially unfolded booths, with the curtains removed to clearlyexpose the interior arrangements. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of thesame, folded. Fig. 3 is a central, longitudinal, sectional view of thefolded device.

The upper or rigid part of the unfolded booths (a series of threecompartments being shown) is a shallow tray formed by the plain back.board A, the longitudinal rails, a, and end rails, a, which are rigidlysecured around the edges of the board or bottom A, and the transverseribs, a, a To the front edge of the lower longitudinal rail, a, ishinged the cover formed of a frame, b, which is rabbeted around itsinner edge to receive the panel B, which has secured upon its inner facethe transverse ribs, b. The top and back, when unfolded as in Fig. 1,form the back wall of the booths.

The sides of the booths are formed by the paneled frames 0, O, and theleaves D which are hinged to the lower rails of the frames 0, C, so asto fold within said frames and lie flat upon their panels, as clearlyseen at the right of Fig. 1. The end paneled frames 0 are hinged uponthe ribs, a and the intermediate paneled frames 0 are hinged directlyupon the back A. The rib, a being the same thick- Serial No. 450,449.(No model.)

ness as the frames C permits the end paneled frames 0 to fold down fiatover them after they are first folded'flat upon the back A. The ribs, astrengthen the back board, keep it from warping, and also serve as backbraces for the paneled frames 0' when unfolded; and the top panel B isalso strengthened by transverse ribs, b', 12 which serve as supports forthe unfolded leaves D, which, when unfolded, are held in position byhooks, d, which are pivoted to the leaves D, and engage staples, 61,secured in the panel B. Similar hooks are also pivoted to the oppositeside of leaves D to engage staples secured in the inner edges of thepaneled frames 0 O to hold the leaves in the folded position, as shownat the upper right hand corner of Fig. 1. But these hooks and staplesmay be dispensed with, as they are only convenient in holding the leavesD in the folded position until the paneled frames are folded. Theshelves E are shaped at their ends to fit the paneled frames 0, O, andrest upon the lower framing rail of the said paneled frames. The ends ofthe shelves are also notched to pass over staples secured in the edge ofthe lower frame rail, which staples project above the top of the shelveswhen in place, as seen in the left compartment Fig. 1, to receive thehooks, e, which are pivoted on top of the shelves. The shelves are thusfirmly held in position, and together with the ribs, a a brace thepaneled frames 0, G, in the unfolded position.

e is a rubber band secured in the vertical stile of the paneled frames,and extending transversely across the panel for the purpose of holdingthe shelf E in place until the sides are folded upon it. The shelves areof thin material, so that when placed in the panel frames they comeflush with the face of the frame, to permit the opposite frame to foldover. The free edges of the frames 0 are rabbeted, and at their uppercorners have socured to them by eye and staple connection the curtainrods, F. The free end of these rods have downwardly-turned hooks toengage staples in the intermediate panel frames; and the free edge ofone of the intermediate panel frames 0 is similarly formed and providedwith a similar rod. The purpose of grooving the edges of the frames isto embed the rods when disconnected, and permit the frames to foldinwardly.

The space between the back and front and the transverse ribs, a isutilized for storing the folded ballot box G. H are hooks secured bypivot screws to the rails a, a, to engage staples in the edges of theframe, 19, for the purpose of holding the parts in the folded position;and I are hook-eyes by which the device is suspended from the wall; andfor additional rigidity, if desired, the panel or back A may be rigidlysecured in position. The outer face of the panel B, when folded as seenin Fig. 2 serves for a black board, being properly coated for suchpurpose.

To prepare the booths for voting purposes the hooks H are loosened, thetop B, 1), unfolded or dropped down as seen in Fig. 1; the paneledframes 0, C, are then opened out, the leaves D unhooked, folded downagainst the ribs, b, If, and hooked in place, the shelves E secured inposition, and the curtain rods, with the curtains depending from them,thrown up and hooked to the adjacent panels. The curtains, which are notshown, only extend a short distance below the edges of the paneledframes 0, C, so that when the booths are occupied the lower portions orlimbs of the occupants are exposed.

It is obvious that many mere mechanical changes or additions may be madein my improved device, but I have shown whatl be lieve to be thesimplest form of myinvention, and shall consider such obviousmodifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, substantially hereinbefore set forth, of the tray,the paneled frames hinged thereto, and adapted to fold within it, thetop hinged to one edge of the tray, adapted to close over the foldedpaneled frames, and the transverse ribs and shelves to hold the paneledside frames in the unfolded position.

2. The combination of the tray, A, a, a, the transverse ribs, a a thepaneled frames 0, O, hinged respectively to the back A, and ribs, aadapted to fold one upon the other within the tray, the leaves D hingedto the lower rail of the paneled frames, and adapted to fold in upon thepanels, and unfold to form lower extensions of said paneled frames, theshelves E to brace and support the frames in the unfolded position andrest within the paneled frames for folding, the curtains and .rodssupporting them for closing the fronts of the booths, and the hinged topB, b, covering the tray when the parts are folded, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

3. The combinationof the tray, the paneled frames adapted to fold oneupon the other within it, and leave a central space or storage cabinet,the hinged leaves D adapted to fold within the paneled frames, andunfold and form thelower extension of said frames, the hinged part B, b,having transverse ribs, 11, 19 to support the unfolded leaves, andhinged to the lower rail of the tray to fold over it when the parts areclosed, the outer face of the top being, when closed, finished to serveas a black board, substantially as shown and described.

PETER ZUOKRIEGEL. Witnesses:

RUDOLPH KAERCHER, F. J. GEORGE.

